Help me buy a car

[greatjourneys]

Help me, oh wise heads of Mumsnet!

I've moved to the outskirts of a city and I need to buy a car. I want something small, safe and economical, just for running to the station and the supermarket. No kids or anything so don't need anything massive. I hate cars and I glazed over after about ten minutes looking online. If you like your small car, can you tell me what you've got and what you like about it?

I have a Smart car and I love it. Very cheap to run, cheap road tax, can fit loads of stuff in the little boot, and park it virtually anywhere.

Honda Jazz. The new models are hybrid (not plug in) so economical. Good record for reliability. Good all-round visibility, small turning circle. Usual suite of lane control, parking sensors, auto headlights and so on, so driving feels like "point and go". Large boot space. And tip-up back seats for carrying tall things. And finally, a "granny" image so no-one wants to steal them!

I've got a 3 year old Toyota Aygo and I love it. There is on;y usually me in it so its plenty big enough. I take my mum shopping occasionally and the boot fits a full shop in it. Its nippy, good on petrol and looks nice!

Honda Civic, got a ten year old one and it’s brilliant. Never goes wrong, drives well, reasonable mpg, huge boot, cruises quietly on the motorway like a much bigger car, comfortable and practical and won’t cost that much to buy.

I've got a 9 year old Renault Clio and it's never done me wrong. Cheap to fill the tank and it gets about 400 miles out of £50 (including rural and city driving).

It's big enough for passengers to be comfortable but not too big to be a nuisance. I bought mine top spec at 18 months old for £8000. Best investment I ever made.

The boots deep as well so deceptively big.

Fiat 500. Like it a lot. Feels very safe and sturdy, unlike some flimsy smaller cars I test drove. Also looks cute.

Thanks everyone, I'll start looking at all of these.

I second the Fiat 500 I have the PopStar model it is so cute to look at I just love it its 4 yrs old and never let me down.I put in £20 of petrol a month tax and insurance is cheap also the shape has not changed in years decent boot and easy parking.Well worth looking at for sure.

Skoda Fabia. Small and economical

Preference wise like the Land Rover defenders, that said practically I prefer those smart cars as they are zippy and are suitable for zipping around.

Fiat500, best small car on the market.

Our daughter has an aygo. Great car, cheap to run and insurance not too bad either.

My friend has a fiat 500 and its proper funky, she loves it. Ive got a mini cooper S and it makes me smile everytime I get in it....a proper little pocket rocket go cart...but it wasnt cheap and isnt all that economical to drive. But if those things dont bother you then its the best fun you'll ever have 🤣🤣

Fiat panda, it’s a Fiat 500s uncool sister, exactly the same car underneath but cheaper to buy and run.

My friend's just got a hybrid Toyota Yaris, does about 60mpg and she loves it, plenty of room, feels safe on motorways but she does go to Scotland regularly.
I've been looking at a runabout, and think if you want electric the Peugeot e208 or Renault Zoe look good but the Kia or Hyundai do a lot more miles per charge. Otherwise I think I'd perhaps quite like a Smart car if you really don't mind small - they're less tinny than Fiat 500s, but can't see quite enough room for shopping and stuff ,likewise I did see some vintage Isetta bubble cars recently that appealed other than price!
However I think I may just get my motorbike out of the shed and use that and a bicycle more, which led me to think about getting a cargo bike for the supermarket run....it's fairly level going there and back.

Since safety is one of your concerns, you could look at the European safety standards

We've got a Mini Cooper 2015, no issues to date, sturdy, and fun to drive, and two Fiat 500's 2011. Again, fun to drive, small, but enough space for 6'2" boyfriend's and shopping. Anything that has needed to be changed or fixed has been super cheap on those two.

VW Up! Or Skoda Citigo

Toyota Yaris, Toyota Aygo or Skoda Fabia from my research!

I have a mini - love everything about it. Use it for similar to yourself and it's so cheap to run! Also doesn't feel light and cheap if you know what I mean.